Living in Oblivion

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Living in Oblivion

R

Released Mar 17, 1995

1h 30m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

86%

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36 Reviews

87%

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5,000+ Ratings

Independent film director Nick Reve (Steve Buscemi) is making his first feature. Everything that can go wrong does: the rebellious catering crew refuses to replace spoiled milk, his actors are flaky and getting an unspoiled take is nearly impossible. Tension between lead actress Nicole (Catherine Keener) and actor Chad (James LeGros), who have just slept together, contributes to the many problems on set. As money and time run out, Nick struggles to complete his film.

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Critics Consensus

Living in Oblivion dives into the folly of filmmaking with a sharp satire that sends up indie cinema while working as an entertaining independent picture in its own right.

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Manohla Dargis

Spin

A ten-minute joke stretched to near exhaustion.

Apr 18, 2022

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Anthony Lane

The New Yorker

Slight but smart, and it doesn't overstay its welcome.

Jan 10, 2022

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

A hip indie version of Truffaut's Day for Night, Living in Oblivion celebrates the very act of filmmaking as grand folly, a triumph of absurdist heroism.

Rated: A-

Sep 7, 2011

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Quentin Crisp

Christopher Street

I cannot praise Living In Oblivion too highly, but I doubt that it will make fifty million dollars the moment it is shown.

Apr 21, 2022

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Tom DeCillo's hilarious comedy about the pain in the ass of independent filmmaking circa 1995 is a hoot.

Rated: FOUR STARS

Feb 27, 2022

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Matt Brunson

Creative Loafing

The segment in which Nick (Steve Buscemi) attempts to film a dream sequence (not unlike the famous one from TV's Twin Peaks) featuring a dwarf named Tito (Peter Dinklage) is worth the rental/purchase price alone.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 28, 2015

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Cameron B

Slight but smart, and it doesn't overstay its welcome.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/01/25

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Stephen C

Funny in 1.5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $48,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/01/25

Full Review

john h

Living In Oblivion is a 1995 comedy about a director struggling to pull his cast and crew together to make his film. The cinematography is satisfying; the comedic set mess-ups are almost cliche but surprisingly a realistic possibility and performances by the entire cast is beyond entertainingly engaging.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/01/25

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Jonathan B

I’m giving this 5 stars because it’s rather brilliant and the best movie ever made about being a director, specifically. But being a director myself (and in the DGA), it’s a 100 minute PTSD episode wrapped in a nice package. It was horrifying watching this thing, frankly. I’ve had every single nightmare occur on set that happened in this movie, from romantic entanglements off set between cast and crew to an obstinate lead actor to the usual technical issues, and probably 10x more than that. So I didn’t find this a “hilarious comedy” at all, it’s probably funny to everyone else, but I found it a horror movie about my life basically. It made me realize this must be how making almost any movie really goes, it’s not just me. If you want to know what it’s like to direct, watch this thing. Trust me, it’s perfectly accurate. This stuff ALL happens, and worse.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/05/25

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BowTangey M

I had not heard of the film, and was wonderfully surprised by this quirky look at the nitty gritty of indie filmmaking. The cast is full of ringers, led by Steve Buscemi and Catherine Keener.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/22/24

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Alejandro E

Steve Buscemi en unos de sus papeles más notorios, aunque poco conocido. El lado ameno del cine independiente y las dificultades del mismo, desde la óptica del cine independiente. Puede que no sea del agrado de todos, pero vale la pena conocerla.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/08/24

Full Review

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Tom DiCillo

Director

Steve Buscemi

Nick Reve

Catherine Keener

Nicole Springer

Dermot Mulroney

Wolf

Danielle von Zerneck

Wanda

James Le Gros

Chad Palomino

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Synopsis

Independent film director Nick Reve (Steve Buscemi) is making his first feature. Everything that can go wrong does: the rebellious catering crew refuses to replace spoiled milk, his actors are flaky and getting an unspoiled take is nearly impossible. Tension between lead actress Nicole (Catherine Keener) and actor Chad (James LeGros), who have just slept together, contributes to the many problems on set. As money and time run out, Nick struggles to complete his film.

Director: Tom DiCillo
Producer: Michael Griffiths, Marcus Viscidi
Screenwriter: Tom DiCillo
Distributor: Columbia Tristar, Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: JDI Productions, Lemon Sky Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 17, 1995, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 29, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $48.0K
Runtime: 1h 30m

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